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November 2, 2009

House of the Day: 49 8th Avenue

Sweeeeeet! Check out this 25-foot-wide corner brownstone at 49 8th Avenue in Park Slope. While whoever can end up affording the $3,200,000 price tag will inevitably want to gussy it up a bit (even the listing says it's "in need of repair and renovation," we're loving what we can see of the house in its current unfancified state. It's got 42 windows and, on the parlor floor, a ballroom. Overall, there's more than 6,500 square feet of space. Ah, to dream.
49 8th Avenue [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark

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The photos do not make me want to see this house.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 2, 2009 1:15 PM

As an alternative, you can add $400K and secure one of the Townhouses on State Street.

Posted by: East New York at November 2, 2009 1:15 PM

Jeez for that price couldn't Corcoran pony up for a professional photographer. The photos look like they were taken with a cell phone.

Posted by: Percy at November 2, 2009 1:18 PM

42 windows.... that's a lot of glass to be perpetually dirty.

Posted by: tybur6 at November 2, 2009 1:26 PM

Does "42 windows" include the bricked over ones on Berkeley Pl? Maybe it was too many windows. It's a pretty busy spot for traffic headed to Flatbush Ave or to GAP. Nice place, but pretty lame to have 5 photos of a 15 room house.

Posted by: Bklnite at November 2, 2009 1:28 PM

25 foot corner house on corner of named street and 8th ave in the slope is going to sell for a pretty penny no matter what photos they put up or don't.

Posted by: wasder at November 2, 2009 1:30 PM

Nice property for multifamily, with all the windows, etc. I'm not sure anyone wants to have a 6,500sf single family house these days, at least not in Park Slope.

Posted by: probopop at November 2, 2009 1:35 PM

Such a deal! From the ad:

"Properties like this rarely come on the market. This may be your chance! "

Right. Properties that need 'restoration and repair' never come on the market.

Percy, the owner was a pro photog! You think he could have done his own!

Posted by: denton at November 2, 2009 1:36 PM

An OHP 6ML franchise player. This one goes for within 10% ask. There are many brownstones. There are few BROWNSTONES. Love will conquer all on this one.

***Bill Thompson for Mayor (TOMORROW!!!)***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at November 2, 2009 1:37 PM

This is the former home of David Gahr, who just passed away last year...

**
David Gahr (Sept. 18, 1922 – May 25, 2008) was an American photographer. He was one of "the pre-eminent photographers of American folk, blues, jazz and rock musicians of the 1960s and beyond." (Bruce Weber, The New York Times, May 29, 2008).

Posted by: 11217 at November 2, 2009 1:38 PM

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/arts/music/29gahr.html?partner=rssnyt

Posted by: 11217 at November 2, 2009 1:39 PM

It's a 2-fam, probopop. A family size rental in this part of town will move.

***Bill Thompson for Mayor (TUESDAY!!!)***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at November 2, 2009 1:40 PM

42 windows.... that's a lot of glass to be perpetually dirty.

Posted by: tybur6 at November 2, 2009 1:26 PM

tybur6, people who pay this amount of money have their windows cleaned for them. They are usually never dirty. I would hire non union window cleaners though.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 2, 2009 1:46 PM

It's a fabulous structure, if someone can afford the asking price the cost of restoration shouldn't be a problem.
Hopefully it won't be "renovated" into a pseudo nouveau monstrosity devoid of all character.

Posted by: Percy at November 2, 2009 1:53 PM

quote:
25 foot corner house on corner of named street and 8th ave in the slope is going to sell for a pretty penny no matter what photos they put up or don't.

THAT'S NOT THE POINT! THE POINT IS THAT A BROKER MAKING SUCH A HUGE COMMISSION ON SUCH A HIGH PRICED HOUSE SHOULD HAVE TO UM I DONT KNOW DO A LITTLE BIT OF WORK! I DONT CARE IF THE HOUSE CAN SELL ITSELF, IF THAT'S THE CASE, THE HOUSE SHOULD GO ALL AMYITYVILLE HORROR ON THE BROKER'S A$$ AND MAKE THE COMMISSION ITSELF!

*ROB*
SORRY FOR THE CAPS

Posted by: Butterfly at November 2, 2009 1:56 PM

QUOTE:
Hopefully it won't be "renovated" into a pseudo nouveau monstrosity devoid of all character.

unless a celebrity moves in, the only kinds of people who can afford this house will inherently "devoid of all character." i know i KNOW just because someone that monies out the wazoo doesnt mean they are boring people, but 99.9 percent of the time, it does. unless they are a celebrity of course.

*rob*

Posted by: Butterfly at November 2, 2009 1:58 PM

OMG - I met David Gahr
he was a funnny old timer who would ALWAYS get into my building and eat at our cafe. I presume he would just call up the many publicists he was friends with and gain access
RIP!!! - he was sweet

I have to agree with Wasder this will sell close to ask

Posted by: gemini10 at November 2, 2009 2:00 PM

Sad but true Butterfly, just look at The 14 Townhouses on State Street.

Posted by: Percy at November 2, 2009 2:03 PM

That's a lot of heavily painted woodwork for that price. Yeah, you can afford to strip it if you can afford the house - but it will never gleam like unpainted original detail.

Posted by: Architerrorist at November 2, 2009 2:04 PM

I like painted woodwork.

Love this house. Would work great as a TIC with your best friend/brother/whatever. Two large family duplexes and an office to cover your bills. Need an elevator, but what's a 100k btw friends. Side windows make all the difference to me.

Posted by: Ringo at November 2, 2009 2:08 PM

[Sigh] I miss having a ballroom. Work aside, I can far more easily see how this house is asking $3.2 than how the State Street house is asking $3.6.

Posted by: CarrollGardened at November 2, 2009 2:12 PM

This is a beautiful mansion, and it doesn't seem too overpriced.

But it would be very costly to renovate and expensive to maintain, too (is maintaining a mansard roof as expensive as it seems?).

The pool of buyers for this property is surely miniscule.

It seems too big for one family.

Perhaps it will be turned into co-opo units?

Posted by: Pigeon at November 2, 2009 2:42 PM

Pigeon,

Did you end up walking around the Slope this weekend? What did you think of the blocks Bob Marvin and I suggested to you...?

Posted by: 11217 at November 2, 2009 2:44 PM

That's a lot of house!
Layout seems odd and could use some reconfiguring.

"Lose yourself (or your kin)"
Is that all you have to do to lose some relatives? Buy a big house.

Posted by: Tara in the Slope at November 2, 2009 2:48 PM

I'd have to see it of course, but this does seem to be priced reasonably. Amazing location, beautifully proportioned and absolutely enormous. Could have an office at home AND a tenant to offset cost. I love it.

Posted by: Nokilissa at November 2, 2009 3:13 PM

so it's a legal doctors office on the garden, and 2 family upstairs?

if it's legal that's an awesome layout...

"click on view full screen on cororan for the pictures which aren't bad, though they need more, i want to see the kitchen and baths and yard"

Posted by: sender9999 at November 2, 2009 3:21 PM

11217

Yes, I did walk around the Slope this weekend -- both Saturday and Sunday (Halloween was particularly nice, as it magnified the friendly community feel of the slope). I made a point of seeing Carroll Street and Montgomery Place, and many of the other name streets.

My walking tour confirmed what you and Bob Marvin said. The North Slope is perhaps the most grand, but some of the Center Slope can match the North in grandeur. The "upper slope" (between 7th and 9th Avenues) is prime. Some of the lower slope is very pleasant, and some of it is architecturally unpleasant.

The slope has a lot of diversity in architecture, socio-economics and, of course, race. And, as you said, the entire slope is great.

Also, there seems to be more car traffic in the North Slope. The Center Slope seems to have more streets with a nice balance between quiet and convenient location. But, as you said, it's on a block-by-block basis.

That's my view. Anyone disagree?

Posted by: Pigeon at November 2, 2009 3:47 PM

I think you hit it, Pigeon. Park Slope is MUCH more diverse than some people give it credit for, and even though it feels very much like a tight knit community (which it IS in many respects) it is also quite varied in terms of architecture, demographics, socioeconomics, etc. You really picked up on that, it seems and I concur.

And now that I think about it, it would make sense that North Slope has more car traffic...it's closer to Flatbush and also some of the named streets feed into the area around Grand Army Plaza, etc.

As a person without a car, I guess I don't pay too much attention to cars. I HAVE noticed a marked increase in biking in the neighborhood in the past year due to the addition of bike lanes on nearly every street in the Slope...

It was a great weekend for walking around...I did quite a lot of it as well...

p.s. It occurred to me walking around yesterday that for me part of the thing that makes the upper slope more grand is the fact that the actual "slope" of Park Slope is much more pronounced when you pass 6th or 7th Avenue. You really start to walk uphill a bit leading up to the Park and it adds for a nice chance in scope since much of Manhattan and Brooklyn are so flat. (Upper Manhattan/Inwood has some nice hills too, which I love...)

Posted by: 11217 at November 2, 2009 3:54 PM

I agree, 11217. There's something nice about the hills in Park Slope.

I just realized that Carroll Street and Montgomery Street are not North Slope, but are Center Slope. (The dividing line between north and south is Union Street, right?)

So, next time I'm in the 'hood, I'll have to do a closer architecture comparison of the North Slope and the Center Slope. It will be fun.

BTW, I, too, am without a car. But I currently live in a high vehicled (Manhattan) neighborhood and am looking for someplace to live that has fewer car stereos, buzzing car engines, idling Fresh Direct trucks, horns, car alarms, exhaust...

Posted by: Pigeon at November 2, 2009 4:17 PM

I still think of North Slope as all named streets, but I guess that varies with each person you ask...

I highly recommend Park Slope, Pigeon. I lived in Manhattan for years and feel as though I finally found "home." My block (you probably walked it this weekend) is very very quiet, even though I'm in North Slope, but I'm between 7th and 8th Avenues on a named street...

Many nice neighborhoods in Brownstone Brooklyn, so keep checking them out, but for me, nothing beats Park Slope...

Posted by: 11217 at November 2, 2009 4:37 PM

"Jeez for that price couldn't Corcoran pony up for a professional photographer. The photos look like they were taken with a cell phone."

They are professional photos. Look at them full screen.

Posted by: Nomi at November 3, 2009 12:15 AM

Why is there so much disagreement about the simplest neighborhood in all of brooklyn?

North Slope = North of Union Street.
Center Slope = Union to 9th Street
South Slope = 9th Street to 15th Street

Oh, and I'd say 4th is the cut-off... being generous, and then we are in the Gowanus (at least below Butler where the canal exists)

(though, somehow 34th Street and 3rd Ave still counts as Park Slope according to our friends in there real estate biz... though I guess that's similar to Nostrand and Sterling being called Prospect Heights.)

Posted by: tybur6 at November 3, 2009 8:38 AM

There are not "bricked up" windows on the Berkeley Place side....those are original "blind windows". What is offensive is the 1940s aluminum window cut into what was once a front parlor. The interior of the house is radically altered to cr4eate the two apartments...parlor floor original proportions and detail gone.

Posted by: outerboro at November 3, 2009 10:55 AM

Fabulous building and great (if legal) configuration as someone mentioned. In a fantasy world, I would buy this with good friends and turn it into a two unit coop and rent to a good/quiet doctors office. I'd much rather have half of this home at this location than one of the smaller townhouses down by 4th Ave which would also run you ~$1.5M and not even have the income stream.

Posted by: pmmtenement at November 3, 2009 1:53 PM

« Condo of the Day: 85 North 3rd Street, #207 Streetlevel: A Beauty Salon for Fulton »

November 2, 2009

House of the Day: 49 8th Avenue

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